Without facts, pundits spread rumors and blame for Boston bombing

(RNN) - Despite there being almost no information about who caused the Boston Marathon bombings, news observers and pundits are quick to place the blame on groups of people, including Islamic terrorists, right-wing extremists, and even the federal government.

Anti-Islam blogger Pamela Gellar has repeatedly referred to the Boston bombings as a "jihad" after unverified media reports speculated that a Saudi national was detained for questioning.

"Fifteen of the 19 Muslim terrorists on September 11 were Saudi Nationals," she tweeted.

Right-wing pundit Erik Rush put out several tweets blaming Muslims for the attack and has even called for violence.

Right-wing terrorists have also been targets of blame. Shortly after the bombings occurred, Esquire's Charles Pierce wrote that people should not be too quick to blame foreign terrorists and consider right-wing terrorists.

"Obviously, nobody knows anything yet, but I would caution folks jumping to conclusions about foreign terrorism to remember that this is the official Patriots Day holiday in Massachusetts, celebrating the Battles at Lexington and Concord, and that the actual date (April 19) was of some significance to, among other people, Tim McVeigh, because he fancied himself a waterer of the tree of liberty and the like," Pierce wrote.

In addition, radio talk show host Alex Jones has speculated that the federal government could be behind the attacks.

"Our hearts go out to those that are hurt or killed #Boston marathon - but this thing stinks to high heaven #falseflag," he tweeted.

"False flag" is a term Jones has used for what he refers to as covert actions by the U.S. government.

Although many people reacted angrily to Jones' tweet, others share his suspicion. During a press conference held by Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, a person allegedly associated with Jones' InfoWars website asked if the Boston bombing was a "false flag operation to take away our civil liberties."

"No," Patrick answered.

But #falseflag on Twitter generates hundreds of tweets with some people speculating about the possibility and others ridiculing them for doing so.

Amidst all the speculation and rumor-mongering, comedian Patton Oswalt posted a statement on Facebook that addressed the culprits of the Boston bombing, as well as the rumor-mongering that has arisen as a result of the attack.

"I don't know what's going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths," he wrote. "But here's what I DO know. If it's one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet."

He added: "So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, 'The good outnumber you, and we always will.'"